BRIDGETON — A Craven County woman known for her varieties of flavorful cupcakes will be on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” program this weekend.

Nicole Costa, owner of The Wild Cupcake, a home business, will appear on the 8 p.m. Sunday program.

A little more than five months ago, Costa applied to be on the show that is now in its seventh season. She was accepted and went to Los Angeles in August, spending five days competing with bakers from across the country, she said.

“The judges really judge you,” Costa said. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but it was cool.”

Costa competed with the help of Rebecca Clanton, who used to own Rebecca’s Gourmet Café and Bakery on Metcalf Street in New Bern before closing the business and moving to Atlanta. Clanton was Costa’s assistant on the show.

Costa said she could not talk about the outcome of the show where the bakers compete for $4,000.

“I feel really lucky,” she said. “It was awesome. My children were so proud of me.”

Costa said she will watch the show with her family and a few close friends.

“I think we put a little spotlight on New Bern,” she said.

Starting The Wild Cupcake was an idea Costa got while finishing nursing school. Her friend came over and tried one of her cupcakes and said it were good enough to market.

Costa went to the Small Business Center at Craven Community College to get advice and learn how to open a home business, she said.

In April 2011, she started The Wild Cupcake, taking some of her 70 different varieties of cupcakes to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, accepting special orders and selling them on “Cupcake Wednesdays” at Our Town Café in Havelock.

One day when she was selling her cupcakes at the Farmer’s Market, Clanton approached her and asked her if she would think about selling her cupcakes from her restaurant, Costa said.

“I was just taking baby steps,” she said. “I got lucky to get on the (“Cupcake Wars”) show. I was going to apply last season but I missed the deadline. This season I decided to apply and asked her to go with me. She did.”

Jennifer Rossi, owner of Our Town Café at 327 B W. Main St. in the Havelock Shopping Center, said Costa has been selling her cupcakes from her restaurant for nearly two years.

Rossi said she only recently heard of Costa being on “Cupcake Wars.”

“I think it is amazing,” she said.

Customers seem to love her cupcakes, Rossi said.

Just a few of her many cupcake varieties include banana cream pie, Neapolitan and mint chocolate.

Page 2 of 2 - “We sell her cupcakes every Wednesday, and we sell out every week,” Rossi said. “We used to only get a dozen a week. But now we are up to three or five dozen a week.”

You can find Costa’s website and Facebook link at thewildcupcake.com, or contact her at 252-259-3713.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.